Straight Answers

Advice and observation

How it works

Roughly thirty-five years in construction, pointed at your job — advice, walk-throughs that look for defects, and a clear read on paperwork, code, and how the money moves.

Straight Answers works for the homeowner. We are not your builder and not a general contractor. The default posture is not a public fight. The work is still serious: catching what can go wrong before it costs you more than it should.

From the first call

  1. You call

    Tell us where the job is, what is underway, and what you want looked at. A clear concern is enough — you do not need a prepared brief.

  2. We decide if it is a fit

    Some situations need a licensed inspector, an attorney, or a different kind of help. If that is the case, we say so instead of stretching the work.

  3. A simple engagement

    If we proceed, we agree on scope, visit frequency, and how notes come back to you. You remain the client. The builder is not.

  4. Visits and a private file

    We walk the site, photograph, and write. You open the file with a code we give you. The record is yours to keep and to use as you see fit.

On site

What a visit is for

This is not a polite walk-through. Visits are there to see what is actually built, what is missing, and what does not match the plans, the draw, or common sense.

What we look for

  • Defects and incomplete work that will cost more later — sequencing problems, materials that do not match the spec, and work that looks finished when it is not.
  • Quality and supervision issues day to day: who is watching the crew, whether the site is left in a condition a homeowner should have to live next to, and whether progress matches what you are being told.
  • Abnormalities a homeowner can miss until it is expensive — the kind of thing you only catch if you have spent decades watching jobs go right and wrong.

Paperwork, code, and money

  • Financing and draw paperwork: what a request actually covers versus what is on site.
  • Code and permit realities — not as a lecture, but so you know when something does not line up.
  • How numbers get soft: allowances that balloon, change orders that obscure cost, and estimates that leave the hard parts for later.
  • Who controls materials and money flow, and whether your agreement and releases protect you the way you think they do.

Substance

What homeowners get bitten by

Contractors can fudge numbers, oversell progress, and leave you holding risk you never agreed to. Insurance that does not name your project. Mechanics liens you never saw coming. Subcontractor releases that were never obtained. Vague “done” that is not done.

We help you see those gaps early — and we help you know when a specialist should be brought in for a specific issue.

  • Licensing, bonding, and insurance — including whether your project can be named on the policy.
  • Written agreements, change-order discipline, and real time constraints for completion.
  • Architect involvement and submittals you are expected to approve without understanding them.
  • Neighborhood work hours, site cleanliness, and day-to-day supervision — things homeowners often will not confront themselves.

Escalation

When we raise it — and when we stop

We raise problems cleanly with you first. You decide how to use the record. Starting a public fight is not the default posture. If the situation needs a lawyer, a licensed inspector, or another expert, we say that in plain language instead of pretending we are those people.

  • Not a general contractor, and not a bid to replace yours.
  • Not legal counsel. If the situation needs a lawyer, that is a separate hire.
  • Not a substitute for a licensed home inspection when that is the right instrument.
  • Not a public report. The file stays with the homeowner who asked for it.

Before you call

A checklist worth taking seriously

Homeowners ask the same hard questions again and again — insurance, liens, change orders, who controls the money. We put them in one place.

Homeowner questions Early Warning Checklist · $47

If you want the work

Call. If you already bought the Owner’s Early Warning Checklist, tap Open my checklist. Observation client files still use the separate client-files login.

Call 317-474-1131 Open my checklist